OUTGOING MANCHESTER CITY veteran Yaya Toure jokingly said he hates Nemanja Matic after he described the Manchester United midfielder as his toughest opponent.
Toure will depart Premier League champions City at the end of the season, which leaves the 34-year-old midfielder with only two more matches before his farewell.
The Ivory Coast international – winner of three Premier League titles – arrived from Barcelona in 2010 and came up against a host of stars in England but none tougher than towering former Chelsea midfielder Matic.
Toure, who plans to stay in the Premier League next season, said: “I hate him, this b******!
“He’s such a difficult player to play against. Tall and strong as well. It’s been fun to play against him, even though it’s difficult. He’s powerful, he’s tall.
“To be able to find an opponent to play against me and stop me… there’s few of them, but Matic was one of the close ones who was able to give me problems. He can run. He can fall back. He can track. He can fight. He’s a good, good player.”
Toure also identified record-breaking forward Sergio Aguero as his favourite City team-mate at.
“Everybody knows I have a feeling for Aguero. I love Aguero. This guy is such a good striker. He’s complete,” he said. “I love David Silva and [captain] Vincent Kompany as well.”
Toure added: “I’m going to miss my team-mates, I’m going to miss my little [Raheem] Sterling, my little [Leroy] Sane. They look like my babies.”
The Ivorian also said that putting Manchester United in Manchester City’s shadow is his greatest achievement as he prepares to farewell the Premier League champions.
“To be honest, yes, that’s true,” he said when asked if overhauling United was the standout achievement.
“When I came to City for them to be a big club we had to put them [United] in their shadow… That was the purpose – to come to City, to put United in the shadow although that would be difficult.”
Toure pinpointed the 2011 FA Cup semi-final victory over United as a defining moment in City’s rise to the top. The Ivorian was the hero that day at Wembley – his second-half goal sinking 10-man United as City went on to win the FA Cup against Stoke City.
“The FA Cup semi-final was a big part of it,” Toure said ahead of Wednesday’s visit of Brighton and Hove Albion.
“When I scored that goal it was a message – they knew City were coming. United were in our way and we had to remove them. They were such a force, they won the league that year. They had such confidence in that game and they thought they were going to beat us.
“I’ll never forget it, they missed big chances and at half-time we were nearly fighting in the dressing-room. We had a chat and you saw a different City in the second-half. It was brilliant.”
Pep Guardiola’s City host Brighton and Hove Albion tonight.
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
